A saw machine or gang saw typically includes an arbor rotatively driven by its connection at one end to a motor. The other end is rotatably supported by a bearing mount provided in a removable gate. A sleeve is slidably mounted on the arbor (at the gate end) and is keyed to the arbor. Saws and spacers are mounted on the sleeve and fixed thereto in a desired spaced relation. The saws, spacers and sleeves together with end nuts holding the spacers and saws onto the sleeves are referred to as the saw assembly.
When the saws become dull or the spacing arrangement is to be changed, it is necessary to remove the entire assembly from the arbor including the sleeve, spacers and saws. The assembly is slid off the gate end of the arbor and a new assembly is mounted in its place.
The saw assembly as described above is often heavy, the blades have sharp edges and the area around the saw assembly as mounted in the saw machine is crowded. Typically the saw assemblies are manually removed. The assemblies can weigh as much as or even more than 400 pounds. Manually removing the assemblies is hard work, dangerous and time consuming. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to mechanize the saw assembly changing procedure and thereby reduce the danger of injuries and also enable a more rapid changing time.